The Perfect Nanny
by Groovesismynickname
Summary: One year after Greta leaves the Heelshire house, Linda Collins moves in. She hopes to start fresh after her divorce. Just as she begins to settle in, she meets the doll named Brahms. Little does she know, the house holds a much bigger secret and unknowingly becomes the perfect nanny.
1. Chapter 1

"You've arrived Miss Collins"

Linda's eyes opened and peered out the window. Her cab was parked in front of her new home. It looked like a house you would usually find in horror movies. She found it odd how her friend Lilly even recommended this place to her. Lilly was a real estate agent who worked in London and knew the house would be perfect for Linda, as she had just divorced her abusive husband and wanted to be as far away from him as possible.

"Thanks. What do I owe you?" Linda asked.

"Your friend already paid the fare" the driver said. She smiled kindly and stepped out of the cab. She walked around the the back trunk to collect her belongings. Once she had everything, she bid the driver goodbye and made her way towards the house. Once she opened the door and stepped inside, she looked around in awe.

 _This place is amazing! I don't understand why the last person to live here left._

Linda knew of the house's original owners. They were an elderly couple who had tragically lost their son in a house fire. Linda couldn't imagine such a thing. Mr. and Mrs. Heelshire apparently needed a 'house sitter', which is the story that Lilly told Linda, but the Heelshire's never came back and she was left to watch the house. However, she left for some unknown reason. Linda heard her phone ringing so she pulled it out of her pocket and answered it, putting it on speaker phone.

"Hey Linda. Have you arrived yet?" Lilly asked.

"Yes. It's amazing!" I said

"I knew you'd love it! I know it's a bit far from town and you don't have any neighbors-"

"It's alright Lilly. I could do with a little isolation for a while"

"As long as you're happy with it, that's all that matters. Cody and I have to head out for lunch. Maybe I could stop by later and check up on you? I could even bring some food by if you'd like" Lilly offered.

"That would be great. Thank Lil" Linda said

"No problem. Good luck with getting settled in" Lilly said before she hung up. Linda went off to find a room to settle into.

She found a room to her liking and started unpacking her clothes and things to keep her entertained. She knew that there wasn't any wifi or satellite, and what she had of reception wasn't that much either. She brought a laptop and charger, and an assortment of movies and television series that she owned on DVD. She also brought a collection of books with her. Just when Linda started filling her dresser with clothes, she heard a thud coming from the room opposite hers.

 _It's an old house. Old houses make noises._

She ignored it but then heard another noise coming from the same room. She dropped the shirt she was currently holding in her hand, onto the bed and crept her way to the closed room. When she opened the door, she looked around the room and noticed it had the appearance of a young boy's bedroom. When she looked towards the bed, she noticed a doll, resembling a young boy, sitting on the bed.

 _Was that doll always here? It's kind of creepy._

Linda stepped closer to the doll and got a good look at it. The doll's porcelain skin appeared to be cracked but carefully mended together. Something else got her eye. It was a piece of paper placed beside the doll. She picked it up and examined it. It was a set of rules.

 **No Guests**

 **Never Leave Brahms Alone**

 **Save Meals In Freezer**

 **Never Cover Brahms Face**

 **Read A Bedtime Story**

 **Play Music Loud**

 **Clean The Traps**

 **Only Malcolm Brings Deliveries**

 **Brahms Is Never To Leave**

 **Kiss Goodnight**

Linda furrowed her eyes at the list. She found it odd, especially since eight was the only one crossed off. Taking her eyes off of the list, she looked back at the doll.

 _Is the doll Brahms? It's a little weird leaving a list of rules for a doll._

Linda ignored the doll and the list of rules entirely. She left the room and closed the door, as she was a little uncomfortable seeing the doll. She then retreated back to her room, not saying a word.


	2. Chapter 2

Linda finished unpacking her clothes, so she decided to start on reading another novel. She opened her boxes of books and looked through the wide array. There was everything from romance to horror, science fiction to fantasy, almost every single genre that there is. She settled on reading _The Great Gatsby_ by F. Scott Fitzgerald. She settled herself on her bed and opened the book to the first page. Her eyes made it halfway down the fifth page when she heard knocking at the front door. Linda marked her place and went to go answer it. It was Lilly with her promise of groceries.

"Hey Lin. I made sure to bring lots" Lilly said, gesturing to the various amounts of grocery bags she brought.

"Thanks Lilly. Come in and show me what you brought me" Linda invited her. Lilly stepped inside with a smile. Linda helped with some grocery bags that Lilly couldn't bring in herself. They set all the grocery bags on the counter and went through the items of food.

"I made sure to get you stuff so you could make your favorite" Lilly said, pulling out a package of bread, jar of Nutella and a group of bananas. Linda loved her Nutella banana sandwiches. As they emptied the bags and put away groceries. Once they finished, Linda offered Lilly some food.

"How about a Nutella banana sandwich?"

"Sounds delicious" Lilly commented. Linda began making the two sandwiches.

"Linda, if you go outside, you might want to empty the rat traps outside. I could almost smell dead rat" Lilly said. Linda paused her actions. That was funny. Cleaning the traps was one of the rules on the paper she found next to the doll. Perhaps she could stick to that rule, as she didn't want dead animals in or outside. Maybe storing food in the freezer wasn't a bad idea either. If she gets hungry later, she won't have to cook anything. The other rules, however, she was going to ignore.

"Linda, are you alright?" Lilly asked, knocking Linda out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for letting me know about the traps" she said. She made the sandwiches and placed both of them on a plate. She set one in front of Lilly and the other in front of herself. They began to eat.

"Why don't we make this a regular thing?" Lilly said out of the blue.

"What?" Linda asked

"I don't mind delivering groceries to you once every week"

"You really wouldn't mind?"

"Not at all"

"Alright. What day works for you?

"How about Wednesdays?"

"Sounds perfect"

* * *

Lilly was getting ready to head off.

"Again, thanks for the groceries" Linda said

"It was my pleasure, but since I did you a favor, you need to do me a favor" Lilly said

"And what would this favor be?"

"Cody and I are having a party tonight and we would love for you to come. Maybe you could meet somebody new. I have a friend that might be interested. His name is Sean"

"Is he cute?"

"You'd have to see for yourself"

"Will you come and pick me up?"

"Of coarse. So is that a yes?"

"I'll go" Lilly squealed in excitement and hugged her friend. They finally exchanged goodbyes and Lilly left, promising to stop by for Linda later. As soon as she was left alone, she could hear the landline that was in her bedroom ringing.

Who the hell is calling and why?

The only way to find out was to go and answer it. It was still ringing when she got in her room and it ended abruptly when she answered.

"Hello?" Linda spoke into the receiver.

"Linda?" spoke the voice of a child.


	3. Chapter 3

"Who is this?" Linda spoke into the receiver. She awaited an answer but there wasn't one. She hung up the phone and furrowed her eyebrows.

 _Probably my nephew prank calling me._

That didn't make sense to Linda though. She hadn't told her family the number of the house. It's not like Linda knew it herself. She heard thudding coming from her bedroom so she went to investigate. When she got there, her heart nearly beat out of her chest. The doll was sitting on her bed, staring right at her.

 _What the hell?_

Next to the doll, was the list of rules. There was something different about it. The eighth rule had been changed.

 **Only Lilly Brings Deliveries**

Linda ignored the rules, picked up the doll and put it back into the room where she originally found it. She closed the door, ensuring it was closed tight. How could the doll have moved? The first time she's touched it was to move it back to it's room. Maybe the doll moved on it's own?

 _Don't be stupid Linda! Dolls can only get possessed in horror movies._

She let the thought go and decided to go pick out a dress for tonight. She rummaged through the dresser drawers and found a dress to wear for tonight. When she pulled it out, a photo fell with it. Linda bent over to pick it up. It was a picture of her that her mom had taken just a few days before the move. She smiled at it and placed it on top of the dresser. She laid the dress on the bed and went to go find a towel so she could have a shower.

* * *

It took Linda ten minutes to shower. Once the towel was wrapped around her, she returned to her room. As soon as her eyes landed on the bed, she noticed something was missing.

 _Where the hell did my dress go?_

She looked on the floor around the bed, to see if it might have fallen. She made sure to check under the bed as well. No sign of it. She decided to look in the dresser. Even though she knows and remembers that she put it on the bed, she still sifted through the drawers. No sign of the dress anywhere. That was the only dress she brought as well. Her eyes landed to the top of the dresser and she noticed something else was missing. Her photo was gone.

 _First my dress, and now my favorite picture. What in the actual hell is happening!?_

Her thoughts were interrupted when there was a knock coming from the front door. Linda went to go answer it, assuming it was probably Lilly. When she open the door, she was greeted by an unfamiliar face. It was a man and an extremely handsome one at that.

"Hi. You're Linda Collins, right?" the man standing in front of her door asked.

"Yes. Who are you?" Linda asked

"I'm Sean Michaels. Lilly sent me to come get you" he said

"Oh yes! Nice to meet you. I apologize for my attire. I'm not planning on wearing this to the party" Linda said, referring to the towel.

"Sorry if I'm a little too early for you" Sean said, flashing Linda a charming smile.

"No, no. I just lost the dress I was going to wear and I can't seem to remember where I put it"

"Take the time you need then. I'll be waiting in my car. Come join me when you're ready to go"

"Of coarse. Thanks. I'll be out as soon as I can" Linda said. She closed the door and made her way back to her bedroom, hoping that her dress turned up. She stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed that the attic was open.

 _I didn't realize there was an attic._

She let curiosity get the best of her and she started climbing up the ladder. When her foot came off the very last step, that's when it shut on her.


	4. Chapter 4

Linda used all the strength she had and tried pushing on the attic door to open it but it wasn't working. She let out a frustrated sigh and looked out the small window. She saw that Sean was still parked and waiting for her.

 _I have to get out of here and fast._

She began looking around in hopes that she could find something to open the door. She searched and searched but found nothing of use to her. However, something did catch her eye. It was a photo of a young girl and a young boy. The girl had a smile on her face but there was something about the boy's face. It was rather dark. The sound of an engine revving had caused her to look back out the window. Sean was driving away.

"No, no, no!" Linda said, banging her fists against the window. Her chance at a new relationship was gone. A moment later, the attic door opened. It caused her to jump a bit, but quickly, she was climbing down the stairs. Since she now had nothing to do for the night, she made her way to her room to put on some pyjamas.

* * *

If the attic door opening on it's own made her jump, the sight of the doll in her room almost gave her a heart attack. He was sitting up right on the bed, staring directly at her. There was also another note in front of it. She picked it up and read it.

 **You're not allowed to leave me Linda**

 **~ B**

She looked at the doll with slight panic in her eyes.

 _Was it the doll that closed me in the attic?_

She shook her head at the thought. The doll couldn't possibly have done that. It probably just accidentally closed on it's own. That didn't explain the note however. She doesn't know who wrote it but it must be this B person. A thought about the list of rules she saw earlier popped up in her head. The name Brahms had stuck in her memory. Could Brahms have wrote this? Who is Brahms anyways? She looked at the doll again.

"Would you happen to be Brahms by any chance?"

No answer. It's not like Linda expected an answer but she thought she might as well give it a try. She picked up the doll, or Brahms as she was now going to call him, and put him back in the room where she originally found him. Then she hurried back to her room, changed into pjs and made her way to the kitchen where a leftover sandwich would be waiting for her.

* * *

When she arrived in the kitchen, she opened the freezer hoping to find a leftover sandwich but it was gone. That's funny because she didn't remember eating it earlier. She closed the lid and looked at the freezer in confusion.

 _Maybe one of the rats got to it?_

But she didn't see how that could be possible. Surely rats couldn't get into the freezer. In any case, Linda decided to clean the traps tomorrow just to be cautious. Her appetite faded away so she decided to head back to her room.

* * *

Linda had popped Jurassic Park into her laptop. It was one of her favorite movies. It was about ten minutes it when she got a call from Lilly.

"Hello?" Linda spoke when she answered the phone.

"You didn't show up with Sean tonight? Why?" Lilly asked

"I got trapped in the attic. It was open so I got curious and when I went up there, it just shut on me"

"Oh my! Are you okay?

"I'm fine. It just gave me a fright"

"I'm glad you're okay. I'm going to call Sean and tell him what happened so he doesn't think you stood him up"

"Oh thanks Lilly. I don't know what I'd do without you. I've gotta go, watching Jurassic Park" Linda and Lilly said goodbye to each other before they ended their call. Linda watched her movie until it ended and then she fell asleep. What she didn't know is that she fell asleep with a pair of eyes watching her.


	5. Chapter 5

When he was sure that Linda was deep in her slumber, Brahms decided to come out of the walls. He wanted a closer look at the girl he found so beautiful. He quietly crept into her bedroom. He stood beside the bed, and looked down at her. He observed as her chest softly moved up and down with every breath she took. He never took his eyes off of her, she was such a sight to behold. When Greta had left, Brahms had never felt lonelier, considering the fact that his parents were never coming. Then Linda had moved in, and Brahms knew that she would be the one to stay, whether she wanted to or not. He reached out to gently stroke her hair.

 _My pretty Linda._

He didn't mind that she didn't follow the rules today. It was her first day after all. Tomorrow, however, he expected her to start. To make sure of it, he quickly yet quietly grabbed the Brahms doll, and placed him beside her along with the rules. He gave her one more look over and decided he wanted a keepsake. He found a pair of scissors and carefully picked up a strand of Linda's hair. He cut about three inches off before going back inside the walls.

* * *

When Linda woke the next morning, she was greeted to the sight of doll Brahms sitting up and staring at her.

"Ah!' she screamed, abruptly sitting up. She stared at the doll, whom was staring back at her. Her eyes drifted to the set of rules that was laid in front of him,

"Again with this? How did you even get in here? I thought I put you in your room" Linda said. She picked up the doll and put him back in his room. She slammed the door behind her, and then went back into her bedroom. She picked up the list of rules, crumpled it up and then threw it in the trash.

"Suppose I should go take a shower" she said to herself.

* * *

When Linda finished up with her shower, she wrapped herself with a towel and moved towards the mirror. She picked up the hairbrush that was sitting on the counter and began brushing her hair. She stopped when she noticed an odd piece of hair. She put the brush down, and picked up the strand of hair. Her hair had been cut.

"How the-" a thud coming from her room distracted her. She put her robe on and quickly ran to her room. The sight made her go wide eyed. Items were knocked over and almost all her clothes were thrown about the room. Sitting upright on the bed was Brahms, and so was the list of rules again, which had been covered with creases.

"What the hell is going on!?"

She jumped when she heard the telephone ringing. Linda walked over to it and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Linda?" She nearly froze at the sound of the little boy's voice. It was the same voice she had heard yesterday. "Why won't you follow the rules, pretty Linda?"

She didn't know what to say so she quickly hung up the phone and ran down to the kitchen.

* * *

 _I scared my pretty Linda. I didn't mean to scare her but she isn't following the rules. Maybe if I do something nice for her, she won't be scared and she'll start following the rules._

 _I don't want my pretty Linda to be scared. I want her to love me like I love her._

* * *

As soon as she was in the kitchen, Linda picked up her cellphone and dialed Lilly's number.

"Hello?" her friend said.

"Lilly, there's something I really need to talk to you about" Linda said

"Sean said he'll give you another chance" Lilly said

"No, no. It's not about Sean. It's about the house"

"What about the house?

"Well there's this doll and it keeps moving when I'm not looking and it keeps leaving a list of rules. This morning I threw the list of rules away and when I came back from my shower, my room was trashed. It's like the doll was angry with me or something"

"So you think the doll is possessed and you somehow pissed it off?"

"Maybe, I don't know. Do you know any backstory on the house? Anything about the past residents?"

"Linda, let me tell you about the Heelshires"


End file.
